This invention relates to an accessory device for a photographic camera such as, for example, a motor drive device, etc. to be attached to the bottom part of the camera main body.
The main body of the photographic camera generally takes such a shape that the front and rear faces thereof are substantially perpendicular to the optical axis of a photo-taking lens of the camera, and both left and right sides or either one of them extends in the lateral or breadthwise direction from a lens-mounting portion for fitting thereon the photo-taking lens so as to provide a hand-gripping portion for firmly holding the camera main body at the time of the photo-taking operation.
When the photo-taking operation is to be conducted using the camera of such general configuration without attaching the accessory device such as the motor drive device, etc. onto the bottom surface of the camera main body, a photographer firmly holds the camera main body by clamping its extended portions with his (or her) thumb, its base and neighboring palm, and remaining fingers, and brings his eye close to the view-finder eyepiece of the camera for the taking action. When the camera is thus held close to the photographer's eye with the camera being directed toward a photographic object, it is natural for the palm portion ranging from the vicinity of the base of the thumb up to the wrist to face the front upper diagonal direction of the camera.
In case no accessory device is mounted on the camera main body, as mentioned above, a part of the palm juts out below the bottom surface of the camera main body, and the photo-taking operation can be carried out with the camera being held in a natural posture, i.e., with the bottom surface at the rear surface side of the camera main body being supported by the palm portion facing toward the front upper diagonal direction of the camera.
On the other hand, when an accessory device of conventional type is mounted on the bottom surface of the camera main body, the rear surface of the camera main body and that of the accessory device fall in one and the same plane which is perpendicular to the optical axis of the photographic lens. Accordingly, when the photo-taking operation is conducted by bringing the camera, the height of which has effectively been increased with mounting of the accessory device, close to the photographer's eye, the palm portion of the photographer's hand does not jut out of the bottom surface of the camera main body with the consequence that the photographer is obliged to hold both side ends of the main body in the state of the entire palm portion being perpendicular to the optical axis of the photographic lens. In other words, the photographer is compelled to hold the camera in an unnatural posture, which is very inconvenient.